Hello,
I had a total thyroidectomy on 9/18 for a 4.7 cm cold nodule. (Had 4 neg. FNAs but was becoming symptomatic) The preliminary path. report during surgery was +Papillary CA so I had a total with removal of lymph nodes. Immediately after waking up in Recovery, I told the nurse I was short of breath and felt like I was not getting enough air. This continued and I had a stat CXR and EKG which were normal as well as normal pulse ox. This was severe for the first 24 hours post-op. I never slept, I had to sit straight up just to be able to breathe. When I tried to take a deep breath there was a noise that seemed to come from my vocal cord area. I was discharged the second day, still feeling short of breath , but not as severe. I am 9 days post-op now. My voice is extremely breathy. I can't talk much because it makes me too short of breath and dizzy. It seems like I have to expel a lot of air just to get my voice out. I am also choking on liquids. I do not feel in any way that this is anxiety. I have 2 questions: Should I be concerned that this could be vocal cord/nerve damage or would this be considered normal for this surgery? Oncology surgeon said frozen slide showed +Pap. CA but he is waiting for final biopsy report.- Is +frozen slide interp. by Pathologist ever false positive? My surgeon assured me they would not remove my whole thyroid unless it was conclusive. I would appreciate your opinion.

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